At too many hospitals, heart surgery is still a wide open procedure. It comes with a longer incision and a longer list of complications. Today, at Beaumont, we offer not so open heart surgery - amazing minimally invasive procedures to repair heart valves or bypass clogged arteries done through a tiny, three-inch incision that hardly shows. And smaller incisions mean less pain, lower risk and faster recoveries. The world's most advanced technology and most experienced heart surgeons and cardiologists are right here.
Conventional on-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)
A conventional coronary artery bypass graft surgery procedure (CABG) is performed to replenish blood to areas of the heart not receiving adequate supply due to blockages in the coronary arteries. During the procedure, the chest is opened and the patient is hooked up to a heart-lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass machine). This machine pumps blood to the rest of the body while the heart is stopped and the coronary artery bypass graft surgery procedure is being performed. The surgeon will take veins from the leg or arteries from the chest and sew the vessels so they create a path for the blood to go around the blockages in the coronary arteries. Once the vessels or grafts are sewn into place, the bypass machine will be removed and the heart will be restarted. The patient is then taken to the ICU to be observed while recovering from the surgery.
Minimally Invasive off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
The minimally invasive CABG procedure is performed for the same reason as the conventional CABG- to restore blood flow to areas of the heart not receiving adequate blood supply do to blockages in the coronary arteries. However, with the minimally invasive procedure, the chest does not have to be completely opened and the heart-lung machine is not needed. Instead, a smaller incision is made and the coronary artery bypass graft surgery is done with the heart still beating.